Countywide : County Coroner Will Resign in ’92

Ventura County Coroner F. Warren Lovell said Friday he plans to step down from his post in September, 1992.

“I’m going to be 70 in June,” Lovell said. “I’m going to enjoy life.”

Lovell, who was appointed county coroner in 1981, said he will resign his $124,000-a-year job effective Sept. 16. Lovell’s office performs autopsies to determine causes of death and to assist law enforcement agencies in criminal investigations.

“It’s been very interesting,” he said. “It’s a fascinating field.”

Lovell said he will recommend his assistant, Ronald L. O’Halloran, as his replacement. O’Halloran has served as assistant medical examiner for five years.

“The County Board of Supervisors will make the final decision, but I think he will be No. 1 in line,” Lovell said.

Lovell said that following his resignation he plans to do consulting work and finish a book he’s writing about his years in the Air Force. He flew B-25 airplanes in the South Pacific during World War II.

Lovell said he has enjoyed working with county officials, especially with his boss, County Health Care Agency Director Phillip K. Wessels. Wessels is on vacation and was unavailable for comment Friday.

Lovell, a Ventura resident, said he has not decided if he will stay in the county. He said he and his wife have thought of moving to Washington, where his grandchildren live.

“I want to go where there’s green trees, running water and where I can grow raspberries,” he said.